Air Conditioning as an Optional Extra

Every spring for some years, the TTC has been caught flat footed with air conditioning units in trains and buses that do not work when the hot weather arrives. This year is easily the worst in my memory. Instead of the occasional “hot car”, they are so prevalent that the official advice is to avoid the middle pair in a train on the BD line (Line 2) because that’s where they stick the ones with no AC.

This started out as a “we’ll fix them as soon as we find them” earlier in the season to an admission today that the fleet won’t be back in working order until the end of the summer. Here is the TTC’s Brad Ross on Twitter:

The problem even has its own web page where the TTC states that 20-25% of cars on BD do not have working AC.

The situation is made even more ridiculous by the huge difference between the size of the subway fleet and the number of trains the TTC actually needs to operate service.

The Bloor-Danforth and Sheppard lines both use T-1 trains, although Sheppard is being converted to 4-car Toronto Rocket (TR) sets and one is already in operation there.

Meanwhile, on the YUS line, the TTC has more trains than it needs because most equipment intended for the Spadina extension and for more frequent service with automatic train control has already been delivered.

Peak trains on YUS = 51 (summer and winter schedules are the same)

Spares at 20% of 51 = 10

Total requirement = 61 trains

Total fleet = 71 (June 19, 2016 Scheduled Service Summary, last page)

This means that the TTC has roughly 50 surplus T1s that are available as an overhaul pool, plus 10 TR trainsets that could be redeployed to the BD line where their working AC units would be most welcome. (And, yes, before someone kvetches, I know that the BD operators would have to be trained to drive the TRs, but many probably know already, and not every crew needs this.)

What we are seeing is a TTC that has been caught out acknowledging the severity of its problem, claiming, basically, that it is impossible to overhaul AC units in advance because they only fail when it gets hot.

The TTC makes a big point of publicizing its Customer Satisfaction stats and trumpeting how strong they are (although we only have numbers to 2016Q1). Hand-wringing over lost ridership is their new passtime, and yet some issues, including failing AC units, are not even mentioned in the staff report on this subject.

It is simply not credible that the TTC is unable, with some juggling of its fleet, to field enough trains where all six cars have AC on the BD line while they get the rest back in proper shape.

All that is needed is the will to organize service around rider comfort.

Post navigation

34 thoughts on “Air Conditioning as an Optional Extra”

IIRC, the T1s are mated pairs, no? So you’d only need a bit more than an 18% failure rate to have 1/3 of pairs with one or both cars without AC. And since 132/185 > 2/3, that means that at least _some_ of those cars need to be in service…

That’s not to say that 18% is a normal or acceptable failure rate, but this could be read to imply a failure rate in excess of 25%.

I grew up riding the Montrealers and the early H-series cars.. even rode a Gloucester before they were retired (as a baby) so I am used to not having air conditioning.

That said even the cars with AC are not that cold. I rode in on earlier that was room temperature. The operator that took it over at Coxwell even asked if it was air conditioned.

I got the impression he would have refused work if it was not. All in all I think if this keeps up they may be forced to put TRs on Bloor for Occupational Health and Safety reasons (upon protest by 113).

The Gloucesters had windows that could open (so we breathed in all the dust, including from the asbestos break shoes), and the earlier M and H cars at least had fans. The fact that it took decades before the TTC even recognized that the surface fleet needed AC speaks a lot about its attitude towards the public — and operators. Remember when the CLRVs started service? They were originally supposed to be AC, but at the last moment, the TTC decided against it as a cost cutting measure. Yet, they did no redesign of the air flow in the vehicles, which originally entered service with only one passenger window capable of opening: a narrow strip on top opposite the exit doors! That first summer was torture in those cars.

In a similar vein, the TTC was one of the last systems to equip their buses with power steering — not because it was more convenient for the drivers, but because it was actually cheaper to retrofit/install them than paying disability/therapy charges for drivers developing arms, shoulder, and back problems.

Steve: The history there is interesting. A member of the TTC Board was opposed to air conditioning on environmental grounds (higher fuel consumption), but eventually came around to conceding that cool buses attracted more riders out of their cars. As for the CLRVs, I remember then CGM Michael Warren stating, to an incredulous room, that it was only “in your imagination” that air blowing on you really did cool you off. The problem was fixed after the windows of a packed Bathurst car enroute from the CNE had its windows pushed out by the passengers.

On May 30th, they ran two TRs on Line 2 because they didn’t have enough working T1s, according to Brad Ross. This was before the fire incident in early June that caused them to again run several on the west side of Line 2.

So clearly they can run some TRs on Line 2 if they want to do so. But when you only need 264 (or possibly 260, since I think one of the Line 4 trains was also a TR that day) of 370 cars operational to run full service, how do you still end up short 12? Is the condition of the fleet that bad, or are they not maintaining all of them in operational working order on the assumption that they don’t ever actually need 370?

Steve: I suspect that there is a substantial pool of bad order cars. The TTC has a long history of wanting ever increasing spare ratios, but it doesn’t seem to have much effect on availability.

A further thought; perhaps constructive. In Cnclrs Matlow and Ainslie’s column yesterday, they had the figure of $10 a subsidy per ride on Sheppard and $50 per ride subsidy to the UPX. So clearly the Sheppard line isn’t so full – and thus why not put the less-AC-abled subway cars all on the Sheppard line, and keep the conditioned cars on the places where it’s crammed-plus??

Steve: Sheppard runs with four car trains, and ops would almost certainly refuse to work if the cabs were in non-AC cars.

Ops would almost certainly refuse to work if the cabs were in non-AC cars.

I saw this happen at Coxwell earlier this week. An Operator asked the person he was relieving if the AC was working in the car. He was not asking jokingly, he was actually going to refuse to work if it was not.

I know it is bordering on an occupational health and safety issue but still, it gets me to wondering if it will come to the point where they will be forced to run TR’s on the Bloor-Danforth line as a result of work refusals.

I will say this, my father has been an operator for 25 years driving everything from fishbowls to the new artics and he has some horror stories. The operators now will refuse work because the seat is uncomfortable (even though the bus is operable) and 113 goes along with it. When he first started both the TTC and the union would tell them to suck it up and drive the f*$%! bus if the seat was uncomfortable.

“…the official advice is to avoid the middle pair in a train on the BD line (Line 2) because that’s where they stick the ones with no AC.”

That explains why I see guards manning most/all trains from a far back position rather than the traditional middle location!

Steve: Actually guards moved to the ends of trains some time ago. It has the advantage of making for quick turnarounds at terminals, although this will be lost when they move to one person train crews.

You would think given all the interest in tracking and avoiding service delays on the subway that the TTC would consider working AC a fundamental necessity in preventing the inevitible heat-related medical emergencies this will lead to. So nice to know my local line is the one stuck with this ‘epidemic’. Perhaps they could at least be kind enough to assign TRs to the AM rush Pape extras on a regular basis.

I was so surprised that the TTC official is only taking about safety of operators, not riders.

“We can’t have our operators who are in trains for eight hours a day in super hot cars.”

I was so surprised that they are not caring about their riders. TTC is a form of ‘SERVICE’. The TTC seriously need to learn the term “The customer is always right”. That means they should give a higher priority to their riders, not their operators.

Air conditioning is a necessity in an aging society. There are many people where hot temperature presents a danger to their health. There is the issue of basic safety. Cooler air has more oxygen than hotter air. Even for able bodied individuals, the lack of sufficient oxygen cannot be considered a good thing. This is not even talking about respect and courtesy to customers.

The HVAC system in the T1 are quite modular as it resides on the top of the body. This is not like a car where one has to literally remove the engine to get access to. Bombardier has a parts depot at Mirabel Airport. Air Canada Cargo can deliver this to Toronto in one hour. Even an expedited FTL service can bring it to Toronto in less than 24 hours.

If the TTC is not able to repair it, they ought to order the whole unit from Bombardier and install it at the yards. Most HVAC failures come from refrigerant leaking. This can be impact induced (i.e. a rock hit the condenser coils) or from pressure related stress. While it is easy to trace a leak with UV dyed tester, fixing one leak does not mean the other one will not happen later. So, it is actually easier to replace the whole unit.

Software can also play a role in the lifespan of the HVAC system. Right now the T1 cars have a software that leaves the air conditioning at full blast all the time. Running a system at full capacity means higher failure rates. It would be better to update the software so that at terminal stations, the system would run at a slower rate. If the doors are open, no matter how much cold air is blowing, it will not stay inside the car. This is physics 101 here.

I was so surprised that the TTC official is only taking about safety of operators, not riders.

“We can’t have our operators who are in trains for eight hours a day in super hot cars.”

I was so surprised that they are not caring about their riders. TTC is a form of ‘SERVICE’. The TTC seriously need to learn the term “The customer is always right”. That means they should give a higher priority to their riders, not their operators.

But how many passengers spend eight hours a day on the subway?

I agree that the situation is severe for everybody, and that the TTC need to get all the air conditioning fixed. But as an interim measure, I cannot find it in me to object to first ensuring that the cars in which employees spend all day have working A/C. It’s not as if passengers are forbidden from using the end cars, nor as if putting those cars in the middle of the train instead of at the ends would increase the amount of cooled space available. For as long as there have to be uncooled cars, I fully support putting the cooled ones where both operators and passengers get the benefit.

The CBC article suggests that this is a peak period problem, but I ran into this today (Sunday) at roughly 14:00. The car didn’t just not have AC, it was actually hotter than the platform was (entering and leaving) and no cooler than it was outside in the shade. I kinda understand the AC going out, but can’t they at least flush the hot air out of the car?

Steve: Even more ridiculous is that a hot car is in service on Sunday when they need about half of the peak fleet.

I thought the guards were stationed at the DWA’s. Are they now at the end of the train? I have now changed my location on the platform to the first car knowing it will have ac. As Benny mentioned, without a/c I’m prone to bodily overheating, due to age and infirm. Though I am spry enough when needed to switch cars at the next platform to catch the a/c car!

Pressing the yellow strip could cause a train to be delayed in the tunnel between stations with the possibility of an actual emergency. Let’s not be dicks, even in jest.

The medical officer of health, Dr McKeown, had much to say about diesel railcars and the like. He has nothing to say, as best I can tell, about sauna conditions on the subway, a city service, during an extreme heat alert. Maybe it’s for the best he is retiring.

As extra fun, as a heavy subway user (average 3-4 trips a day) with basic statistics training, I’ve been running my own statistical analysis for the last 3 weeks (since it’s been hot enough to notice A/C or the lack thereof). With well over 50 data points I have enough to draw statistically significant conclusions and my numbers show closer to 50% of T1 cars without properly functioning A/C (I define “properly functioning” as able to keep the cabin temperature below platform temperature; a very low bar indeed).

I’m not able to say this definitely (as I have no way to definitely test if the A/C is functional at all), but I would guess the 25% number is probably the percentage of cars with COMPLETELY non-functional A/C based of my own anecdotal experience.

I’ve not adjusted for peak/off-peak service and I’ve assumed that the front and back cars ALWAYS have functioning A/C and confined my testing to the middle 4 cars.

Well maybe the TTC has started listening after all. I got a TR on the Danforth subway on my way to work today.

Steve: Yes, I was advised by Andy Byford yesterday (July 13) that some TRs would be used for service on the BD line, and that a review of the fleet plan is underway. More information when I receive it.

I caught a TR for the first time this morning eastbound at Keele Station. While I already knew they were very quiet inside while in motion, it’s been a while since I had a direct comparison to the T1s. The difference is striking. The T1s allow much more exterior noise into the passenger cabin, not helped by their much louder propulsion system and motors. It was such a relief on the ears to experience the quiet cabin of the TR on the BD at last. The fully-functional air conditioning was of course also welcome.

In true TTC fashion, however, they managed to ruin the experience. That particular run was only planned to go as far as Spadina Station. Even at 9:50am they dumped a full standing-room-only crowd of passengers out just before reaching the three stations 99% of them needed to get to – St. George, Bay and Yonge. The demand for space on the BD line is clealy not being met properly. I don’t know if that TR run was an extra or not because the following T1 train was a scheduled Pape extra. The air conditioning in the first car of that T1 was working quite well though.

My mom caught a T1 with failed air conditioning heading downtown this morning. On her return trip at noon she caught a TR back though, so at least the TRs don’t seem to be isolated to rush hour.

Steve: The TRs come out of Wilson, and I suspect the one you were on was headed back there. TTC really needs to get its act together on this, and the big problem is that ops on the BD line are not trained on the new cars.

I love the irony that they are using instructors to drive the trains rather than to train the operators to do it themselves. Oh, TTC, how impossibly backwards you always are!

Steve: In a pinch, it’s understandable, and once the Vaughan extension opens and ATC allows for more frequent service, that will soak up the currently spare equipment. The real question is why the AC units were allowed to get into such bad shape to begin with. Is this one of those “canary” situations where maintenance cutbacks we don’t see have affected equipment reliability? We have been through this before with disastrous consequences.

The peak trains are usually back in the yard between 9:30 and 10:30. If a train leaves the BD around 8:30 it will have to go to Finch and back to Wilson which is about 75 minutes from Museum SB arriving at 9:45. It is not likely they would turn back from Osgoode or Union because the YUS is short for every train sent to the BD. Also, the rush isn’t NB on University and Spadina so much as it’s SB from Finch or Downsview so they want the trains leaving from there.
Aslo, Instructors RARELY drive trains in service except for extreme emergencies. It’s partially a union thing but also they don’t have the experience of continual driving and things slow down. They rarely drive when teaching—they are coaching the student.

When you see the TR trains on the BD they are being driven by the YUS operators.

By the way, I speak from experience as not only a Streetcar operator (15 years), a Subway Operator (15 years) but also an Instructor (2 years). I am now retired.

Steve: It was Andy Byford who told me that they are using Instructors on the TR trains.

I would be very surprised if Instructors are driving the trains. They would have to take a trained operator out of the seat to do so and that is not allowed. When a TR is on the BD it is driven by a Wilson operator. I am a retired Subway operator and will double check with someone I remain in contact with.

So here we are in the month of September now, and the BD line continues to operate many cars without AC despite the suffocating heat. Today there were several emergency alarms activated on BD trains, no doubt a result of the extreme heat inside some of these cars. There were a lot of passengers being left behind on the platforms as well (mostly at the front and back), because people are simply refusing to board any of the middle cars. I passed several trains in the opposite direction this morning, with not a single TR in sight. If the TTC is trying to reduce ridership, this is a sure-fire way to accomplish it.